Is There A Correct Way To Treat Prostate Cancer?
by Roy Berger, MD F.A.C.P. and James Lewis Jr., PhD
An overview of available treatments, but not a state of the art discussion….just a good read that will give you the background to talk about what you want to do with a degree of clear headed knowledge.
topics:

CURRENT TREATMENTS:
Radical Prostatectomy:
External Beam Radiation Therapy:
Seed Implantation and Cryosurgery:
Hormonal Therapy:
Watchful Waiting:
THE FUTURE:
Provenge
Vitamin D and Taxotere
Taxotere with Other Drugs
Changing Your Mind about Chemotherapy
From Updated Guidelines for Surviving Prostate Cancer
By E. Roy Berger, M.D., F.A.C.P. and James Lewis Jr., PhD.
Is there a correct way to treat prostate cancer? This is a question that hundreds of thousands of patients and their families are asking. The reason is because there is such enormous disagreement among the various subspecialties that treat the disease.

The answer to the titled question must be, “Yes, I am sure there is a correct way to treat prostate cancer.” However, no one who is currently treating it today can be sure that his or her treatment is the right one. The reason for this is that there has not been a significant number of randomized controlled studies to answer all of the questions related to the various treatment modalities. The current selection of treatment options for patients who have early stage disease include: radical prostatectomy, external beam radiation therapy, brachytherapy (seed implant treatment), cryotherapy, combination hormonal treatment and watchful waiting. In addition, there are a several new drugs that are currently undergoing clinical trials that appear promising to make the treatment of prostate cancer less invasive.

The treatment that is preferred by a given physician very much depends upon his or her training as well as biases that result from their own experiences and interpretation of the medical literature. Urologists are more apt to believe in radical prostatectomy as a curative treatment for early stage prostate cancer. Radiation oncologists frequently believe that radiation therapy, by either external beam